City’s pipeline of talent between the Academy and first team continued apace.
Nico O’Reilly, born in Manchester and at the Club since the age of eight, scored his first senior goal in an FA Cup win over Salford City in January 2025. He went on to score twice against Plymouth Argyle in the fifth round and was also named man of the match for his performance in the quarter-final, where he laid on both goals in a 2-1 win at Bournemouth. In all he has made 21 appearances for City and firmly cemented himself as part of Pep Guardiola’s future plans.
Another graduate, James McAtee, returned from a loan spell at Sheffield United to make 27 appearances for City and then famously captained the England Under-21 side to success in the UEFA Under-21 Championship.
In addition, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey made the leap from the Elite Development Squad (EDS) to the first team in the UEFA Champions League game against Sporting CP. He went on to make six appearances during the 2024-25 season.
Fellow defender Kaden Braithwaite made his first-team debut in the Carabao Cup win over Watford.
In Ben Wilkinson’s first season as EDS coach, City won a record-breaking fourth Premier League 2 title. They also made the play-off final in only the second season of the new league structure and featured in the UEFA Youth League quarter-finals.
There was a similar story at under 18 level where Oliver Reiss enjoyed his first season as head coach. The group made a gallant attempt to defend their FA Youth Cup title but lost in the final to Aston Villa at Villa Park. They finished top of the North division of the Professional Development League but were also beaten in the National Final by Villa.
In May 2025, City’s Under-18s captain Rhys Thomas was called up by Wales for an international training camp. The young defender was one of 29 players to have been selected by boss Craig Bellamy for the camp which was held both in Wales and Spain.
There was barely a day in the year when a City side was not in action somewhere at home or abroad. In all, City Academy teams played an astonishing 623 games in 2024-25 across all age groups.
They participated in 24 tournaments abroad (visiting 15 different countries) and 22 in the UK. Twelve Academy games were played in the Etihad Stadium and the Annual International City Cup was hosted at the Joie Stadium.
Winners
PREMIER LEAGUE 2
LEAGUE PHASE
Winners
Premier League North
Winners
Premier League Fives
Winners
Premier League Nationals
The roll of honour was impressive. Apart from those successes already mentioned there were eight titles won – including Nationals, Powerplay and Premier League Fives in the age groups under 9-12.
Away from training and playing and the school curriculum, the Club’s Performance Lifestyle and Player Support team provided 178 Personal Development sessions (Under-9s through to Under-21s) and 249 individual sessions with individual players or small groups (Under-15s through to Under-21s).
Sessions included healthy relationships, finance, communication, social media, cooking, media training, mental health and transition support.
The Academy also hosted three Parent Forums to give parents an opportunity to share feedback to staff as part of the Club’s ongoing commitment to provide the best environment for young players.
Educational achievements of the Academy players
Source: Manchester City
